A primary runoff will be needed to decide the Democratic nominee in Alabama House District 52 after a six-person contest on Tuesday.
Democrat Kelvin Datcher was the lead vote-getter in the Birmingham-area district with 37.95% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office.
And three votes appeared to separate those vying for the second spot in the July runoff. Frank Woodson received 17.78% of the votes; LaTanya Millhouse received 17.56%.
With a total of 1,334 votes cast, the turnout Tuesday was 3.93%, according to Secretary of State Wes Allen’s office.
Datcher is Birmingham’s deputy director of community development and his endorsements included Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and the Business Council of Alabama.
“I’m just so proud of the support we got from one side of the community to the other,” Datcher told BirminghamWatch Tuesday night.
Woodson is the executive director of the non-profit CityServe Alabama. He told the outlet he plans on spending the next month speaking with neighbors and community members to let them know their vote matters and is valued.
“So many people feel that it doesn’t matter — that they don’t matter to the political world, and we have to show them different by being different,” Woodson said.
The special runoff is July 16 and the winning Democrat will face Republican Carlos Crum in the Oct. 1 general election. Crum is the only Republican in the race and got to skip the primary process.
The seat in the House is open because former Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, was forced to resign amid federal corruption charges in March.
Rogers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The charges are related to what federal prosecutors described as a kickback scheme that diverted money from a fund intended to pay for community projects in Jefferson County.